Do you think Playtech should sell to Aristocrat? The Playtech shareholder vote on Aristocrat is set for 12 Jan 2022 – tell us what you think! (Photo by Jeffrey Blum on Unsplash)
It seems the date for the Playtech shareholder vote on the Aristocrat takeover bid. Playtech is the second-largest live dealer casino brand in iGaming and the firm is in the midst of a takeover bid from Aristocrat; a well respected Australian operated iGaming and land-based casino supplier. However, more recently that bid just became slightly more complex as another offer has come into the mix from a Hong Kong investment firm – Gopher Investments.
The vote on the UK£ 2.73 billion (5 billion AUD/3.1 billion EUR/3.7 billion USD) bid from Aristocrat Gaming (ASX:ALL) is set for 12 January 2022 according to FXnewsgroup.com.
If all goes to plan, Aristocrat will become the new owner of British born and Israeli managed iGaming firm which is made up of video slots, progressive jackpots, online bingo, a huge live casino with studios across the globe, sports betting online and land-based (retail), virtual table games and virtual sports betting. On top of this, Playtech has many other arms to the business, including casino and sports aggregator platforms, financial management firms, and more.
Rumour has it that the date is set to January because Playtech is toying with the idea of also accepting another bid from Gopher Investments worth slightly more. Apparently, the new bid was supposed to start a bidding war, but no news of Aristocrat increasing its offer. Maybe the company feels that if it remains shtum and holds its cards close to its chest, Gopher Investment’s offer will simply be left on the table.
Favouritism Already? It is quite possible Aristocrat is already on most Playtech shareholders’ minds since they will already be more than happy that when Aristocrat’s original bid came in, the value of Playtech shares more than doubled. However, as with every buyout offer, there is more than meets the eye.
Aristocrat Versus Gopher Investment – Which one should shareholders vote for?
There are great arguments for both bidders and what it all boils down to is which markets are these firms going to expand Playtech’s presence? And which company has the best chance of adding value to Playtech through market expansion? For the latter, industry knowledge importantly comes into play here.
Aristocrat: Another reason most industry experts and outsiders looking feel Aristocrat will win the bid is that the Australian online casino and land-based gambling firm is market savvy. It already operates online with multiple online slots already released and Aristocrat supplied land-based casinos. On top of this, it is licensed by multiple global authorities, while it can expand Playtech’s presence in Australia. However, there could also be quite a reshuffle within the Playtech ranks as 2 iGaming companies begin to merge into 1, which is something we saw when Evolution took over NetEnt.
Finally, Playtech already has its foot in the door in Asia, and with Aristocrat’s existing market knowledge, the Asia expansion can move forward, but is Gopher Investment better for Asian expansion?
Gopher Investment: Has no market experience but plenty of financial backing behind it. That means it has the cash to splash on hiring experts to integrate into Playtech without having to change the current structure, i.e., not much of a reshuffle. The company would need to reply on Playtech’s existing expertise to bring the firm into the future. However, shareholders generally don’t see this side of a deal, but no doubt they will be made aware via future documentation explaining Gopher Investment’s bid.
Also, Gopher Investment’s counter to expansion in the Australian market with its Asian connections. It is a huge market with undoubted potential, and Gopher Investment could use its powerful influence to expand here.
Asian Market Key or Not? For shareholders, is the Asian market going to be the deciding factor? The sheer size of this market could sway people to go with Gopher, while they could feel Aristocrat has enough experience to build on Playtech’s existing market penetration. From our point of view, the Asian market is too unstable and ambiguous and going with Gopher could mean throwing all your eggs into one basket, while Aristocrat offer Playtech live casino fans a more diverse skill-set for the future.
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